YEREVAN, Armenia — On June 19, the American University of Armenia (AUA) Acopian Center for the Environment, in partnership with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC), organized a public talk titled “From Kunming to Yerevan: The Pathway to Achieving the 2030 Biodiversity Goals.” The lecture, which brought together diverse stakeholders, was led by Tommaso Demozzi, an IUCN biodiversity policy officer specializing in multilateral environmental processes and the European Union’s biodiversity policies.
After introducing the IUCN’s history and role in global conservation policy, Demozzi described the success of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), a groundbreaking legislative framework designed to address the global biodiversity crisis by 2030. The GBF incorporates 23 action oriented targets to combat key drivers of biodiversity loss and is supported by a set of implementation mechanisms and decisions.
The next step in the GBF pathway was COP16, held in Cali, Colombia, which Demozzi described as the “implementation COP.” During the conference, parties agreed to a resource mobilization strategy and a GBF monitoring framework, in addition to updating their National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs).
Scheduled to take place in Yerevan in 2026, COP17 will serve as a critical stepping stone to achieving GBF targets. A defining feature of COP17 will be the prior submission of NBSAPs by parties for the first global review of GBF implementation. COP17 will facilitate the only global review prior to the GBF implementation deadline in 2030 and will prove essential for enhancing the effectiveness of NBSAPs. Demozzi also highlighted COP17’s thematic focus on climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as its aim of promoting policy coherence and synergies with other global frameworks, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The presentation concluded with a lively discussion between IUCN staff, representatives from the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets, and
AUA students. Participants underscored that strengthening biodiversity capacity and embracing a multi-sectoral approach are essential in order to not only meet environmental challenges, but also to lead on the world stage.
The AUA Acopian Center for the Environment, a research center of the American University of Armenia (AUA), promotes the protection and restoration of the natural environment through research, education, and community outreach. The AUA Acopian Center’s focus areas include sustainable natural resource management, biodiversity protection and conservation, greening the built environment, sustainable energy, as well as information technology and the environment. Visit ace.aua.am.
